Many tribes used this plant for coughs, and in sweat lodge ceremonies to remove toxins from the body, as a general tonic and fever reliever. White sage or “man sage” was perhaps the most important ceremonial plant of the Cheyenne Nation. Artemisia ludoviciana is actually a member of the sunflower family. It too is used as a sacred sage, and is also known as prairie sage, silver wormwood. This was used as a ceremonially east of the Cascade and Rocky Mountain range and is most often associate with smudge sticks. Both of these species are disappearing from the wild, which is of concern to many tribes, which is another good reason to cultivate either or both of these plants and DO NOT remove plants from the wild.
